VOA慢速英语--上帝电视节目展示了以色列和福音派之间的问题

An evangelical broadcaster with a contract to air Christian¹ programs in Israel is now at risk of being shut down.

The reason? Some accuse the channel of trying to get Jews to become Christians².

The channel, called "GOD TV," has put both Israel and its evangelical Christian supporters in a difficult position. It has also shown tensions between the two groups that have long been ignored.

American evangelical Christians are strong supporters of Israel. They see Israel as a predictor of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the end of time.

Israel has long accepted evangelicals' political and financial support. The religious group's importance in the United States has risen during the presidency³ of Donald Trump⁴. Israel usually does not worry about any possible hidden goal the group has to convert Jewish people.

Most Jews see any effort to convert them to Christianity as deeply offensive. They compare such efforts to the thousands of years of persecution⁵ by Christian rulers. Because of this, most evangelicals rarely try to convert Jews.

"GOD TV" is an international Christian broadcaster. In March, it signed a seven-year agreement with HOT, Israel's main cable provider. It described itself as making shows for Christians and began airing programs about three weeks ago.

"GOD TV" is known as "Shelanu" in Israel. It broadcasts in the Hebrew language, even though most Christians in Israel speak Arabic.

Ahead of the channel's launch, "GOD TV" head Ward⁶ Simpson made a video announcement. In it, critics say, he spoke⁷ of the channel's real goal: to convert Jews to Christianity.

Simpson said God was letting him take Christianity into the home of Jews. "They'll watch secretly, they'll watch quietly," he said. "God is removing the blindness from their eyes."

That video has since been taken down.

In a later video, Simpson admitted that "GOD TV" was under investigation⁸ by Israeli officials. He apologized for any offensive words and said "GOD TV" would follow all the rules.

Israel's Communications Ministry⁹ said it was investigating a problem with the permission to broadcast that "GOD TV" received in March. HOT said it was not responsible for the broadcasts and has been completely open with Israeli officials during the investigation.

Freedom of religion is an important part of Israeli law. Proselytizing¹⁰ – or trying to get people to join a religion or cause – is permitted as long as the efforts do not involve money or people under the age of 18.

"GOD TV" was founded in Britain in 1995. It has grown into a 24-hour network with offices in several countries. It claims to reach 300 million homes worldwide.

Simpson has denied trying to convert Jews to Christianity. But he also said Jews who accept Jesus as the messiah can continue to practice their faith. He was talking about Messianic Jews, popularly known as "Jews for Jesus."

All major Jewish groups reject Messianic Jews. Israel considers them to be converts to another religion.

"There's no such thing really as the Messianic movement," said Rabbi Tovia Singer. He leads an organization that works to stop missionary¹¹ activity aimed at Jews.

Singer said Simpson's willingness to speak openly about conversion¹² demonstrates the growing influence of evangelical Christians in both Israel and the United States.

Simpson said "GOD TV" has no plans to go off the air in Israel.

"We love Israel," he said.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

evangelical – adj. being in agreement with the Christian gospel as it is presented in the New Testament¹³

convert – v. to change from one religion, belief, political party, etc., to another

persecution – n. to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

cable – adj. a long wires that delivers television programming in to the home, rather than over the airwaves

proselytize¹⁴ – v. to try to persuade people to join a religion, cause, or group

missionary - adj. a person who is sent to a foreign country to do religious work

messiah - n. In Judaism, it is a king who will be sent by God to save the Jews. In Christianity, it refers to Jesus Christ.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 proselytizing   

v.（使）改变宗教信仰[政治信仰、意见等]，使变节( proselytize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

11 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

12 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

13 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

14 proselytize   

v.改变宗教

参考例句：

• I assured him we didn't come here to proselytize.我向他保证我们并不是来改变他的信仰的。
• Christians were arrested for trying to convert people,to proselytise them.基督徒因为试图改变他人信仰而被捕。